Gage now available: is it .223 or 5.56?

Marketplace Member Sales Forum
1

Finally!

I’ve been trying to get this out and available for a couple years now-- but it’s really hard juggling a feather, a bowling ball, a V40 grenade, and a KaBar at the same time while trying to bring out a new product.

This gage tells you if you have a chamber that is 5.56 NATO (or larger), or something shorter/smaller.

This is not a headspace gage, and this is a good point to make the comment that I have experienced only one AR15 that had headspace that was too short. Not saying it doesn’t happen but it seems rare. I’ve never seen long headspace, but then, altogether, I’ve had little reason to check mass quantities of AR’s for headspace.

The gage looks a lot like a headspace gage. It comes with its own rod which you thread into the tapped hole in the back of the gage. Unload and open your rifle, pull the bolt group, make sure the chamber is clean so there is no false reading, and drop the gage in. If the gage’s shoulder “clinks” off on the shoulder of the chamber and the gage drops or pulls free without sticking or resistance, you have a chamber that is 5.56 NATO or larger. If the gage goes in and wants to stick, as in, you let it in and it pulls with a little resistance, or you try and turn it but it does not turn freely, you are short of 5.56 NATO and probably have a .223 chamber. You can color it up with a Sharpie, put it in and spin it (clockwise) to observe where it’s contacting the chamber first.

Note that the gage will also stick in a .223 Wylde chamber since the Wylde’s freebore is smaller in diameter than the 5.56 NATO’s. It’s my opinion that the Wylde chamber ought to be OK with 5.56 NATO ammo, but I have not delved into this scientifically. I don’t own anything with the Wylde chamber, so I have no first-hand experience with it. The smaller freebore, I suppose, would make it more crud-sensitive.

Probing either a .223 SAAMI or .223 Wylde chamber with this gage will not harm the chamber unless you decide to really try by hammering it in. Don’t do that.

Pics coming by Wed. evening. Price is $44, add $10 for Priority Mail, or, for now, as I try and find a way to efficiently do it, $3 for first class.

You can PayPal me the funds using metalmaster@m-guns.com or send a check (personal OK, no hold, MO not necessary) made out to Ned Christiansen to
MG
Box 42
Three Rivers, MI
49093

2

Very nice Ned!

Question - would this work for a Mini-14? Don’t have a clear path back from the chamber so would you be able to use just the gauge without the rod in a Mini-14?

Thanks

3

esskay, you can work it in there on a Mini, I checked one a couple weeks ago but honestly I can’t remember now if it was .223 or 5.56 :confused: !

I will say that in our classes we’ve seen maybe two dozen Mini’s in the last 3-4 years and not one popped primer. The biggest shortcoming in my mind is adjusting the sights, kinda minor really. And the fact that accessory and upgrade options are fewer-- if that matters. They get dissed a lot but in my limited experience they have been very reliable and although as I understand it they are not as accurate as an AR can be, it is not something that can really be detected in the patrol rifle application

Some pics of the gages. First pic shows four gages and the handles that come with……

The below pic shows how you would read the rub-off of the Magic Marker applied to the gage, sort of a backup / confirmation of the above-mentioned technique of “does it stick or does it not”. On top, this gage has been inserted into a .223 SAAMI chamber and turned while pushing lightly. Taking it out and examining it, and having noticed it was a little sticky when pulling it back out, it can be seen that it contacted the chamber in the area of the freebore/throat—in any event, it did not stop off cleanly on the shoulder. No ink is rubbed off on the shoulder of the gage, indicating it never got that far.
The lower one, you can see that no ink is rubbed off forward of the shoulder, but some ink has been rubbed off at the shoulder. Gage was pushed in, came to a positive stop on the shoulder, rotated freely even while being pushed forward, indicating that it was not trying to wedge into a short freebore and throat. Withdrawing the gage, there was no stickiness or resistance to it coming back out. Examining it, it can be seen that some ink is rubbed off of the shoulder, indicating that it was stopped by the shoulder and never touched freebore and throat: that’s a 5.56NATO chamber!

4

Many thanks, Ned. I’ll have to obtain one.

Hey, can you autograph it? :smiley:

5

I’ll get somebody else to write my name on it-- my penmanship would disappoint you!

6

Until tax day (April 15th) I’ll throw in an EoSticker with each gage.

7

Ned,

That seems like it would be pretty handy. BTW- I got the second reamer and used to chase a few of the last barrels that were done. There was a difference. Unfortunately since I didn’t have it from the get go it is hard to say how many were actually done before it started to dull. I know that I did well over 80 barrels though.

8

This new gauge works well. I’ve used mine quite a bit lately.

9

Got mine and am already putting it to use.

Yes, it is indeed useable in a Mini-14 chamber. You’ll find many Minis that are NOT 5.56 NATO.

This is yet another of Ned’s products that is a must-have for maintainers.